Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-05-18
Who Should Have the Offices.

y
President Frederic R. Coudert and large
contingent of the Young Mems democratic
club met in the parlor of the Hoffman House
Monday night and punctuated with ap-
plause an address of Mr.. Richard NJ. Henry
entitled "Who Should Have the Offices 2"
Some of the things Mr.. Henry said are:
There will always be those among US,
high in authority too, who think they dis.
pose of ell the practical difficulties of gov.
eminent by merely enunciating the senten.
tious political truth. Public office is
public trust and then illustrate it by sp-
pointing to the principal positions in their
gift unfit individuals whose chief claim for
preferment consists either in personal ale
giarcs to themselves or in large pecuniary
sid contributed to their election, while
many person elected to Office uses the ex.
piession Public office is q public trust
merely to cover his own treason TO his party.
| believe with the founders of our Govern.
ment that the existence of at least two great
political parties is necessity TO the per-
petuity of free institutions, and political
parties cannot exist without politicians.
Jefferson, Hamilton, Webster, Clay, Cal
houn. aud Lincoln were all in their own day
politicians, although in our day We call
them statesmen" Mr.. Henry stood up for
the politicians, and said they were the men
who gave their days aad nights to the dis.
cussion of questions affecting the Govern
ment's welfare "While on the other hand,
those who do none of these things, and who
attend only TO the business of making money
| for themselves, are gathered into another
class, and are called business men, con-
cede that public Office is public trust
But the question still remains Who
shall administer the trnstY l maintain
that the tlust should be administered
by those who have been faithful not by
those who have been faithless in their po-
litical duties. If there is one thing that |
| believe 10 more heartily than another it is
10 the absolute necessity in republic that
| the Government-natio State and mum!
cipal-should be partisan TO its very core.
don't mean that in any sense it should be
carried on for party, but do mean that it
should be carried on by party. Responsi
tity for good or bad government must be
concentrated, not divided. Where the gov
ernment is non partiaan-that is, where the
officials composing it are equally divided
between the two parties-whateVer of cor
ruption is in it remains in it until 1t becomes
rotten
In contrasting the political management
OF republicans with the present state of af.
fairs, Mr.. Henry said II do not recollect
at this time any instance wherein they have
felt themselves unequal to the responsible
Ties the people have called upon them to
assume, or whore they have ever solicited
the aid of democrats to assist them In the
difficult task of carrying on the Government. You
could never get the idea into republican s head
except by breaking his skull. | say you could
never get the idea into republicans head that
there is any Office in the country no matter how
humble it may be, that could not be better filled
by republican than by democrat. l have no
ticed, however, for years the extraordinary fact
that the democratic party has in quite number
OF persons who are democrats through and through
before election, who when on the rostrum
democratic that they cut Jefferson Jefferson and
out Jackson Jackson, but who, when elected to
Office if not exactly ashamed of being democrats
aud of associating politically with democrats only.
love to talk nOn-partsanship and to rub up
against republicans, as if they expected by mere
contact to get portion of the respectability the
republicans enormously supposed to possess.
long for the good old times when the sim0n-p pure
politicians were in possession -when the men with
bud-colored vests and with the blue coats and
brass buttons of our fathers-when mon with
well-flled heads sat in that august body, instead
OF men with well. filled pockets | believe | do
not overstate the matter when | say there not
few purely business men who have bought their
way into the United States Senate to the excu-
sion of the old fashioned but poor politicians, and
/ don't think the public service has been i'm
proved thereby. Rather the contrSry."-N. Y.SuH.